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This week we are going to add a barbell strength training exercise that targets your oblique muscles.

The last few articles have focused on training your obliques with different variations of planks designed to target them.

The Seated Barbell Twist is a useful way to train the obliques with weights.

Seated Barbell Twist is a very simple exercise making it perfect for beginners. It gets classified as a strength training isolation exercise.

This exercise is very well suited to progressive overload. All that you need to do is increase the amount of weight on the bar to increase the difficulty when you are performing them.

The ability to increase how hard it is by increasing the weight also makes it very useful to people at an intermediate and advanced fitness level.

There are several different topics we will cover on this exercise.

We will describe how you perform it with video, image, and a written step by step description detailing each step required to do it.

The equipment you need to be able to perform it. The different muscles that it uses. Numerous benefits you get when including it into your training routine.

The article will also cover some different training tips to help make sure you are performing it correctly. And not making some of the more common errors made.

Plus some other exercises you can use in its place to train similar muscle groups.

Seated Barbell Twist How to Guide

Image Example

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Step by Step Description

Step 1: Begin by using an overhand grip to grab a barbell with a wider than shoulder width grasp. Sit at the end of a weighted bench. Move your feet, so they are shoulder-width apart and rest the barbell on your thighs.

Step 2: Lift your legs to jerk the weight up. Straighten your arms and lift the barbell over your head then lower it behind your head resting on the base of the neck. You are now in the starting position.

Step 3: Keeping your head looking forward exhale and rotate your torso to the right.

Step 4: Inhale and turn your body back to the starting position.

Step 5: Again keep facing forwards and exhale as you rotate your torso to the left.

Step 6: Return to the starting position as you inhale.

Congratulations you have now completed one repetition of the seated barbell twist. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions that you have selected.

Equipment Required

Like the name of the article implies the first thing you will need a barbell and weights.

The second piece of equipment you need is a weighted bench to do this exercise.

Muscles Worked

The primary muscle worked by Barbell Twists are your Oblique muscles. These are the muscles that run along the side of your core.

The secondary muscles that get used are your Abdominals and the lower back.

Benefits

Being a basic movement makes it suitable for beginners.

Many of the oblique training exercises we have covered so far requires you to be able to perform a variation of the plank.

If you cannot yet do planks, this is a useful exercise to use to help strengthen your core.

You can use the barbell seated twist as a warm-up exercise before moving to more challenging oblique exercises like the Suitcase Deadlift.

Oblique training is shown to help increase the speed you can perform core movements.

This increase can improve your athletic ability in many different sports.

• Alternate Exercises

• Suitcase Deadlift

• Side Plank Hip Raise

• Standing Barbell Twists

Inclosing

Many people do not focus on training their obliques, and many other of their lifts suffer because of it.

It does not matter if you are deadlifting or squatting your core plays a primary role in performing the exercise.

By strengthening your weaker core muscles, you may find that you will be able to lift more weight on many different compound exercises.

Many people have the belief that training their obliques will make them appear fat. The obliques are quite thin muscles and hard to bulk up.

The obliques are used to help generate force when you are rotating the torso. Whenever your body is using more power, you will burn a higher number of calories.